An Artificial Night
When Toby’s friend’s children disappear in the night she’s quickly on the case only to find herself embroiled with the crazed Firstborn Blind Michael.
This installment is just as entertaining and enjoyable as the previous books in the Toby Daye series. McGuire reveals the back story of her world with perfect timing and as a result I’m totally invested in the series.
A must read if you’ve read the first two.
A Local Habitation
The second October Daye book finds the changeling PI investigating a mystery at a Fae run computer company.
This sequel is another well constructed and enjoyable urban fantasy detective novel. It’s only flaw is that it doesn’t significantly advance the intriguing back story of the lead character.
I’ve decided that I really like Toby Daye and I’ll probably be sticking with the series while this remains the case.
Probably not the place to start the series but recommended if you enjoyed the first book in the series.
Rosemary and Rue
This is the first of a series of urban fantasy novels featuring the private investigator October Daye as the lead character.
Toby is a changeling – half Human and half Fae.
After an investigation goes wrong she’s trapped for fourteen years by a magical transformation. Since breaking free of the spell she’s done her best to run away from her past when she’s drawn back in by the dying curse of a pureblood friend and bound to find the murderer.
This is a really solid piece of urban fantasy with a lead character that’s satisfyingly flawed and world that has enough interesting threads to fill several more books.
Definitely recommended if you like a bit of urban fantasy.
Outliers
I was watching a documentary about Bobby Fischer and at one point Malcolm Gladwell popped up to talk about the 10,000 hours it takes to become an expert in any given field. I’ve heard this idea before and though that maybe I should read this guy’s book and see what the story is there.
Outliers is about the stories we tell ourselves about success and successful people. Gladwell’s central point is that no-one rises to the top in any endeavour solely by their own effort. That is not to denigrate the effort, talent and drive of those who succeed, but to recognise that a specific sets of circumstances favour certain outcomes and some people are in the right time and right place with the right skill set, personality and background to take advantage of that. There is no such thing as making it on your own.
It’s a fascinating and convincing read. I’m sure there are flaws in his arguments that have been dealt with elsewhere.
All I can say is that I really enjoyed it and that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.
The Half Life of Stars
I’ve read a couple of Wener’s books since she gave up being an indie pop star and became a writer instead.
Just like those books this is not the most profound novel ever written but Wener has a pleasant prose style.
Claire’s family have never been the same since her Dad died of a heart attack when she was a kid. Fast forward to the present day and her older brother, Daniel, has gone missing. Her own life in a mess after divorce and financial failure she finds herself following a tenuous series of clues in an attempt to find Daniel and solve the mystery at the heart of her dysfunctional family.
Pleasant read, nothing exceptional. If it sounds like you’d enjoy it – go for it.
Soulless
Soulless is a steampunk alternate history urban fantasy romance with both comedic and horror elements.
In a world where vampires, werewolves and ghosts are part of Victorian society we are introduced to the Soulless of the title, someone who can nullify the gifts of the supernatural, a high society spinster by the name of Alexia.
Highly intelligent and forthright with a great line in witty banter she’s a great character to spend time with.
The book overall is an entertaining confection. The plot is pretty obvious but it whips along at an enjoyable pace and kept me entertained.
It’s not a top class example of any of the genres it plays with but I’d still recommend it to anyone looking for a diverting piece of escapism.
Gateway
Pohl is one of the last remaining giants from the golden age of science fiction.
Gateway is, in my opinion, one of his three best books. (The other two being the disturbing Mars exploration tale Man Plus and magnificent satire on advertising and consumer society The Space Merchants, which he co-wrote with Cyril Kornbluth).
In this future Earth is heavily overpopulated and resource starved and one Robinette Broadhead uses a lottery win to escape the brutal life of a shale miner to try his luck prospecting in an alien spacecraft from the alien adapted asteroid known as Gateway.
We see the present day in the form of sessions Broadhead has with a machine psychologist and in alternating chapters we’re told the story of what happened at Gateway.
It’s an interesting premise, well delivered. You really want to spend more time in the world Pohl created when you finish it.
I’d definitely recommend this for fans of science fiction. I would also say that you should probably avoid the sequels if you don’t want to be disappointed.
The Stainless Steel Rat
Harrison – who passed away recently at the age of 87 – was a master of smart, funny satirical science fiction.
The Stainless Steel Rat books were always my favourites and I’d been thinking about re-reading them before news of his death prompted me to finally buy a copy.
While the book is dated in many respects (it was originally published in 1961) it’s still a fast read, full of expertly constructed capers and a whole lot of fun.
We’re only just getting to know Slippery Jim DiGriz in this book and he evolves into an irrestistable character over the next few books in the series.
You should be able to pick this up cheap from a second hand bookshop but it’s also available from Gollancz’s SF Gateway site.
It’s well worth a read and I recommend it to those who like classic science fiction or want to revisit the rat.
Moon Over Soho
The second PC Grant book finds the characters still dealing with the repercussions of the events in the first book.
Physical and mental injuries to his colleagues mean that Grant is left on his own in the field for the first time as he investigates the deaths of jazz musicians that show telltale signs of magical influence and continues to try and find who’s been killing men by biting their penises off.
The book feels a bit less focussed than the first of the series and it annoyed me by having the lead character being stupid in a really obvious way for a good chunk of the tale.
I’d still recommend the book as it’s a really satisfying mix of humour, horror and police procedural.
Rivers of London
This mix of supernatural horror, fantasy and police procedural is very entertaining. It’s so good, in fact, that I’ve already started reading the follow up.
Peter Grant is a probationary constable in the Metropolitan Police, staring down a career behind a desk. An interview with a witness at the scene of a homicide sends his life on a new course when the eyewitness turns out to be a ghost.
This tale is a perfectly judged fluid mix of horror and comedy that serves a well wrought detective story.
I can’t wait to see where the author goes with this series.
I would recommend this book without hesitation (especially since it’s on sale for £1.99 on the UK kindle store at the time of writing).